December 5th, 2008 — Weight Loss Journal, body image, motivation, wellness
If you are struggling with your weight and your self esteem, there are many different things that you might find that you are not doing. Whether it’s wearing a favorite outfit, going to a gym to exercise or even just having fun, many of us end up self exiled hermits due to our weight. While this can be a great motivator, for most, it is self defeating behavior that may make it harder to lose weight. Here are some tips on how to start owning your body and getting back into life.
1. Start respecting yourself.
How many times do you avoid mirrors, or grimace at your own reflection? It’s time to stop that self destructive behavior and start finding things to life. It may be difficult, especially if you have spent most of your life putting yourself down. The secret is – when you don’t believe in yourself – no one else will either. You’ve got to start upping your self respect if you want people to respect you. Your exercise is: Find one thing that you like about yourself, such as your eye color, how shiny your hair is, or a favorite body part. Look at yourself in the mirror and declare that you are beautiful/handsome and that you love yourself. Repeat until you no longer feel silly.
2. Start hiding yourself in your clothing.
When you are dealing with a weight problem, your outfits of choice are probably black and not exactly form fitting. You may even develop an attachment to these clothes and use them to cloak your true body and personality. It’s time to break free of that mental block and start freshening up your wardrobe. Although black is slimming, it’s also pretty boring and it gives people the impression that you are overly somber. Loose clothes often make us look bigger instead of camouflaging our weight. Your exercise is: Buy one shirt or clothing item in your absolute, all time favorite color. Now, wear it immediately. No ifs, ands or buts. Put in on and you will probably notice that you collect quite a few compliments that day.
3. Stop hiding and get out there.
Self confidence is the most attractive thing in any human being. If you lack confidence, you’ll project that and as such, people will either overlook you, or worse. You’ve got to start working on building up that self confidence. The first exercise will help you stop beating yourself up, but now you’ve got to take it to the next level. You are beautiful/handsome and you deserve the best right now – not when you lose weight. By adopting this attitude, you’ll find that many different things in your life will start to turn around. Your exercise is: Every night before you go to bed, repeat twenty times: I am confident. Every day when you wake up repeat twenty times: I am confident. You’ve got to fake it until you make it and watch your life start to change!
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November 22nd, 2008 — diet, goals, moderation, motivation, wellness
Dieting is not for the faint hearted, and it is not easy. If you fail to keep the right perspective during your diet, it is all too easy to give into cravings, to fall off the wagon and simply give up. Before you even think about going on a diet, you're going to need to get your priorities in order and find your perspective.
First, it is important to sit down and list the reasons that you want to lose weight. Put them all down in one column. Now, take a hard look at them and see which ones are directly related to your physical health and which are related to your physical image. Are there any that aren't even related to you, such as how other people perceive you?
Now, split your list up into these three categories, Image, Health and Perception. Cross off everything in the Image and Perception categories and look only at the Health category. The other two are arbitrary and while they may carry some importance, they are not the best reasons for losing weight. It is also too easy to say, "I don't care anymore," and give up your diet when you're focused on the superficial.
However, when you are focused on health goals, it is much easier to keep on track. You can look at the results you get for the other two categories as a bonus, but your main focus needs to be on your health. For example, let's say that one of your health goals is getting your blood pressure down by ten points. As you reach that goal, your physical appearance will change and you will start getting compliments about your weight. Look at this as a nice reminder that while you're focusing on your health, you're also changing your outward appearance, but don't lose that focus.
Now that you have all the reasons why you want to lose weight in that Health category, you can begin to set goals for yourself. Whether you need to lower your blood pressure, or you want to be able to walk up a flight of stairs without being winded, focus on these goals and break them down. By setting reasonable goals, you'll find that it is much easier to see real progress.
It's not about being able to fit into that old pair of jeans again. It is about being healthy enough to enjoy life around you. By finding the right perspective, you are no longer doomed to failure. You have the ability to take your future into your hands and work towards your goals that will help you enjoy it.
One word of caution. It is never healthy to set happiness goals for weight loss. For example, "I'll be happy if I can just lose x amount of pounds." Never assign your happiness to a number, you're selling yourself short. This mode of thinking starts a spiral that is hard to stop. Instead, set a happiness goal that centers around something more tangible. "I'll be happy if I can play with my children without feeling tired."
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